Something Unexpected
by A7XHero
Summary: Fitz likes Clare. Clare likes Eli. Fitz doesn't like taking no for an answer. Basically a Fitz/Clare/Eli love triangle
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: This takes place during All Falls Down part 2. I'm going to change the storyline a bit from the show. Reviews are welcome. :)**

**Don't worry, there will be some Eli/Clare stuff for the Eclare lovers. **

"Is that corsage for me?" Clare asked me in the hallway.

"Yeah." I said nervously. "My Mom made me bring it." I had never felt nervous in front of a girl before, but Clare was different. I hated her boyfriend, Eli. I wanted Clare for myself.

"Cool." Clare took the corsage but didn't put it on. I felt a bit disappointed. "So this is it, no more fighting with Eli?"

"So long as he leaves me alone. But I do want one thing."

"I'm not going to have sex with you." She said.

"What?" I raised my eyebrow. "What gave you that idea?"

"Eli said you told him you wanted to have sex with me."

"Ah.. well theoretically most teenage guys would want to have sex with a girl like you. But I'm not going to try anything with you. Unless you want me to.."

"Theoretically… not a chance." She said.

I sighed quietly. "That's too bad for me."

"So what did you want from Eli?" Clare asked.

"I just want an apology. Then this is all over. No more fighting."

"I think I can get him to do that."

"Yeah right. Good luck with it, but I don't think he's going to do it." I said, shutting my locker. "Let's go to the dance." I reached for her hand, but she looked startled, so I just began to walk to the dance. She walked beside me.

"You want me to get you a drink?" I asked, spotting Eli in the crowd far away.

"That would be nice" Clare said.

I smiled at her "I'll be back in a second then." I walked over to the drinks area. "Two drinks thanks" The kid handed me two drinks, and I walked back to Clare.

"Here you go"

"Thanks Fitz."

"You can call me Mark if you want.. but you're the only one who can, alright?"

"Okay, Mark." It sounded weird suddenly, but it felt right coming from her. Everyone else just called me Fitz now.

We just stood for a while, sipping our drinks. I wanted to dance with her so badly, but I doubted that she would be interested.

I put down my empty cup, and looked at Clare. She was watching Eli from afar. Damn Eli.

"Hey, would you like to dance with me?" I asked hopefully.

"Um.. I'm not sure.."

"Its just one dance. I'm not that good either, but it'd still be cool."

"Um.. okay, I suppose one dance can't hurt."

"Great." I grabbed her arm gently and pulled her to the dance floor.

We danced to a song I didn't know, and I pulled her closer to me when I saw Eli watching us. She looked up at me.

"You're not as bad as I thought."

"At dancing?" I asked.

"No, I mean you actually have a soft side."

"Yeah, I'm not a jerk 24/7, just when people get in my face."

"Didn't this all start because of a parking space? Seems a bit trivial." Clare said.

"Yeah well.." I muttered. I moved my hand a little lower on her hip, feeling pretty good about it. I decided to make a daring move. "Hey?" I said quietly.

She looked up at me again "Yeah?"

I smiled and leaned in, kissing her gently on her lips. I wasn't the type of guy for romance, but I did actually like this girl. Plus I wanted to make Eli as jealous as he could be.

She looked startled and confused. "Sorry." I said.


	2. Chapter 2

"No, its fine." Clare said awkwardly.

I nodded slowly, and stepped away. "I'll be right back." I walked off feeling like a complete idiot. I mentally cursed at myself. I looked back at Clare, who was now talking to Eli, who looked mad. Crap. He'd never apologize now, and Clare would never want to talk to me again.

Clare noticed me looking at her. She gave a small smile and said something to Eli. She walked over to me.

"Was Eli mad coz I kissed you?" I asked.

"He didn't see. He was just mad I was on a date with you." She replied.

"Oh." I tried not to smile. "You going to tell him?"

"It's not necessary. You want him to apologize remember?"

I wasn't sure if that was a good sign, her saying it wasn't necessary. I guessed it wasn't going to happen again anytime soon. Maybe if I played nice with Eli, she'd consider it. Or maybe I could not play nice with Eli, and make her go on another date with me…

"Okay, so we going to do this or what?"

"Yeah. Let's go." She grabbed my arm, pulling me along. I liked it, but didn't show it.

We walked up to Eli, who was standing by the drinks table.

"So you ready to apologize to me?" I asked.

He looked down at his drink then back up at me. "Okay." He gave Clare a look, then looked at me again. "I'm sorry Fitz. For everything."

I thought about it for a second. "I heard the words, but I'm just not feeling it."

"Come on, Fitz, you got your apology." Clare said. "Just handshake and it will be all over."

"How about a toast?" Eli suggested, holding up two drinks.

"Fine, whatever." I shrugged. Eli handed me a drink.

I was about to drink from the cup when Clare stopped us. "Wait! Switch cups. It's a tradition."

"Alright." I swapped cups with Eli and took a drink. I put the cup down, realizing it tasted funny. "What did you.." I raced over to the bin nearby and hurled into it. I glared at Eli and ran off, away from the dance.

I walked off angrily to my locker. I didn't want it to come to this, but I was so mad. I picked up a knife from my locker and held it in my hand.

A few minutes later Clare arrived at my locker. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"You're concerned for my health now huh? I figured you'd be in on it."

"What are you talking about? That was Eli's idea, I had no idea."

"Sure. You got us to switch drinks." I pointed out.

"I swear I didn't know. I thought I was doing you a favor by switching." She said. "I'm sorry."

"You like that guy? He's such a dick." I said.

"He can be at times, yeah. But he's not always like that."

"Look, I was serious about leaving him alone after this. But when he pulls pranks like that, it just gets me mad."

"What can I do to make sure you guys stop fighting?"

I took a deep breath. "Go on another date with me." I whispered.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing. But Clare, there is something I need to say. I like you."

"What?" She stared at me.

I sighed. "I know you still see me as the guy who beat up your boyfriend, and I get it. You don't want to be with me, but I just thought, that once in my life, I could have something good."

"Fitz…" She looked up at me. "I mean Mark." She reached out and grabbed my hand, and I forgot for a second I had a knife in that hand. I quickly swapped hands, and in doing so I dropped the knife to the ground.

"What's that?"

"Uh.. it's a knife. But I swear to god I wasn't going to use it. I was going to use it to scare Eli, but when you came over to talk to me, I changed my mind."

"You changed your mind?"

"Yeah, because I like you. You bring out the best in me." I said with a smile. "Look, I'll throw the knife away for you." I picked it up and walked over to the nearest waste bin, dropping it in.

"I just want you to know, I won't stand for violence anymore, you want to fight with Eli, then I don't want to be with either of you."

"Deal." I promised. "So you want to go on a date with me? No strings. Just you, me and a movie."

"Okay. I'll do it."

"Great." I smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

I got to dance with Clare one more time at the dance. She asked me if I could apologize to Adam for being a jerk to him, so I decided I would as soon as I saw him next.

"So, do you want me to take you home, or.." I asked.

"I've got someone picking me up."

"You're not going with Eli, are you?"

She looked up at me. "No, my Mom, she's going to pick me up."

"Do you want me to wait with you? I've got nothing better to do." I shrugged.

"Okay, sure. I'd like that."

We sat and waited on the steps together. I wanted to talk to her, but I suddenly didn't know what to talk about.

"That's a cool ring." I said lamely, pointing to the ring on her finger.

"Oh. Thanks."

"Where'd you get it?"

"Church. It's a purity ring."

"Right. Of course." I said. I reached over and took her hand in mine. I knew what the ring meant, and of course being a teenage guy I didn't approve, but in that moment I didn't care about sex. I just wanted to hold her hand.

When her Mom came to pick her up, I considered giving her a goodbye kiss, but didn't want to in front of her Mom. Clare probably wouldn't approve.

I waved goodbye, watching them as they drove off.

"Hey Fitz!" Eli's voice rang out.

"What do you want man?" I asked, turning around to look at him.

"I want you to stay away from Clare." He said.

"Oh yeah? Well she's not your property. Not my fault she likes me better than you."

"There's no way she likes you better than me."

"Is that a hint of jealousy, young Eli?" I mocked.

"She knows you're a jackass, Fitz. She's not going to want to be with you for very long."

"Well I'm the one going on a date with her this weekend." I said proudly.

"What?" Eli said angrily. He stepped closer, and swung his fist at me. He missed my face, since I moved out of the way.

"I don't want to fight you, Eli. Clare's more important to me than you."

This just seemed to make Eli madder. He swung at me again, this time connecting with my jaw.

I didn't want to jeopardize my date with Clare, but I couldn't let him get away with this. I shoved him back, pushing him to the ground. He kicked my knees from his position on the ground, and I stumbled back. I tripped on the stairs and fell awkwardly down them, landing on my wrist.

"Ahh!" I shouted. It really hurt. I had broken one of my toes a few years ago, and the pain was similar to that. "You broke my wrist!"

Eli looked over at me, and back at the school. He took off running. I would have chased him if I wasn't in so much pain.

I took my cell phone out of my pocket, and rang my Mom so she would come and pick me up. I would just leave my car at school.

After a trip to the emergency room, I was in my bed at home, thinking of Clare. She would be angry at Eli now, and she would feel sorry for me, since I now had a cast on my arm.

I never thought I would be this happy to break a bone.


End file.
